Automaton
VII|former names = Clockmech}} The automaton is an enemy in Dragon Quest VII. Characteristics An android seemingly built for battle with a mace in its right hand and a hatchet in its left hand. Though not quite at the level of a killing machine, an automaton can frustrate an underlevelled party with its ability to hit all targets at once, sometimes getting an extra turn to carve up its foes before they can act. However, they are vulnerable to stun attacks. Main game appearances Dragon Quest VII Story Past The automata are part of an army summoned by the Tinpot Dictator to lay waste to the country of Faraday in an endless war. No amount of strategy from its military can slow the mechanised monstrosities. The hero and his party enter Faraday Castle as swords-for-hire and break in on a number of briefings from Captain Thaddeus Goodwinding, but he finds himself at a loss with each meeting. One of Faraday's corporals, Promptly-Wallop, offers the suggestion to seek out Autonymus, an expert engineer and scientist. Initially, Thaddeus wants no part of the plan and storms out of the meeting. On Promptly-Wallop's advice, the party heads west for the Institute of Automatry. They find Autonymus, but he refuses them. Thaddeus later joins them in an attempt to persuade the misanthrope recluse. He also fails. As the automata converge on the castle, one of their number collapses in front of the Institute. Thaddeus and Autonymus pair up to repair and reprogram the mech. Before the castle is overrun, the brothers Goodwinding activate their creation, dubbed E.L.L.I.E. after Autonymus' late love interest. Her radio jammer sends a signal that disrupts the attackers. After some deliberation, King Faraday and the brothers prepare to attack the Automoton Stronghold, using E.L.L.I.E. to jam the automata guarding it. This allows the party to infiltrate the base and rout the mechanical menace, though not before the Tinpot Dictator and his ultimate weapon, the slaughtomaton, make a last-ditch effort to kill them, which fails. Although all parties are duly entitled to a reward, all but the Hero refuse; Thaddeus was simply doing his duty, and Autonymus, still a misanthrope, storms out and takes E.L.L.I.E. back to the Institute. He spends the remainder of his life in his work. Due to the severe gravity of the incident, Faraday's history blotted out all reference to the automata, that no such weapon could be created again. Present With Faraday revived, King Faraday VII sent an expedition to the western reach, where the Institute still stands. With assistance from Ambrose, the area is declared off-limits. A still-functioning E.L.L.I.E. was inside the Institute, her logic confused after Autonymus died centuries ago. However, the king's curiosity of the area and lust for a mechanical man get the better of him, so he sends a battalion to fetch E.L.L.I.E. in order to analyse the droid and develop one of his own. His team of scholars is stumped. He conceives a plan to lure E.L.L.I.E. to the lab and dissect her. They succeed in doing so, and disable the droid by removing her globular pistotron. Ambrose tries to intervene and send the droid back home, but he is sent to an underground lockup for interfering with a royal decree. Ambrose then asks the party to retrieve a spare part from his granddaughter at the watchpost in Frobisher, and she tells them its location near the river inside the outer wall. Returning with the spare part, the party and a guard release Ambrose, whereupon he installs the pistotron and escorts E.L.L.I.E. back to the Institute. There, the king gets into an argument with Ambrose, but soon realises the error of his ways when he sees the droid's dedication to service. Thus, E.L.L.I.E. is left to her craft, making soup for her master though he is naught but bones. After Orgodemir's revival, Faraday has been vacated, and E.L.L.I.E. finally grinds to a halt. Strategy Automata can be found in the field in Faraday in the past. They can attack twice in a turn and hit everyone in the party with Multislice. Multislice does decreasing damage, so members in front will receive the brunt of the damage and members in the rear ranks should not suffer as much. Ruff's Aoooo! skill has a chance of preventing an automaton from using one of its turns, interrupting all attacks. The player should also defeat any automata before defeating any other enemies. Automata also have a chance at dropping an iron axe, a weapon quite powerful for a good stretch of the game. Other languages Related monsters *Scrapper *Stainless scrapper *Red scrapper *Silver scrapper See also Automaton (Vocation) Category:Dragon Quest VII monsters Category:Dragon Quest VII bosses Category:Dragon Quest of the Stars monsters